A 


GEOLOGICAL  REPORT 

ON  THE 

ENLOE  MINING  PROPERTY 


ALLEN  P.  RICHARDSON,  ESQ., 


IN 


CRAWFORD  COUNTY,  MO. 


By  B.  F.  SHUMARD,  M.D. 


ST.  LOUIS: 

MISSOURI  DEMOCRAT  PRINT,  COR.  FOURTH  AND  PINE  STS. 

18GT. 


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THE  ENLOE  MINES, 

CRAWFORD  COUNTY,  MISSOURI. 


PROF.  B.  F.  SHUMARD’S  GEOLOGICAL  REPORT. 

The  mineral  lands  composing  these  noted  mines  were  entered 
at  an  early  period  by  Benjamin  Enloe,  whose  name  they  bear. 

A short  time  after  their  entry  it  was  discovered  they  contained 
rich  deposits  of  lead  ore,  and  superficial  mining  was  commenced 
by  Mr.  Enloe,  who  gave  to  his  miners  one-half  the  mineral  raised 
for  their  services.  Until  quite  recently  no  mining  has  been  done 
on  this  tract  of  land,  except  upon  an  equal  division  of  the  min- 
eral between  the  owner  and  miners  raising  it. 

Having  secured  these  lands  for  mining  purposes,  and  opened 
several  places  to  prove  their  richness,  I have,  in  addition  to  their 
past  history,  obtained  the  judgment  of  some  of  the  best  mineral 
men  of  our  State  as  to  their  productiveness,  and  with  these  opin- 
ions submit  the  Geological  Report  and  Map  of  the  Mines  by  Prof. 
B.  F.  Shumard,  of  St.  Louis,  long  engaged  in  the  Geological 
Survey  of  Missouri,  and  late  State  Geologist  for  Texas. 

With  this  brief  statement,  I submit  Dr.  Shumard’s  Report,  fol- 
lowed by  extracts  from  the  reports  of  Col.  J.  H.  Mcllvain,  of 
Carondelet,  and  Judge  Murphy,  of  Washington  county,  with  opin- 
ions of  the  press.  Both  these  gentlemen  are  experienced  in  min- 
ing, having  been  engaged  in  mining  and  smelting  lead  ores 
for  a period  of  twenty-five  to  thirty  years. 

Respectfullv, 

ALLEN  P.  RICHARDSON, 

Jefferson  City , Mo. 


REPORT 


To  Allen  P.  Richardson,  Esq. 

Sir — I have  carefully  examined  your  mineral  lands  in  Crawford 
county,  and  respectfully  submit  the  following  report  as  the  result 
of  my  observations : 

Your  property  lies  in  a single  body  on  the  east  side  of  Meramec 
river,  in  Township  40,  Range  2 west,  embracing  171  63-100  acres, 
viz  : 40  acres,  southeast  quarter  of  the  northeast  quarter  ; 15  13.100 
acres,  east  fractional  part  of  southwest  quarter  of  northeast  quarter  ; 
40  acres,  northeast  quarter  of  southeast  quarter;  36  50.100  acres, 
east  fractional  part  northwest  quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter ; 
40  acres,  southeast  quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter. 

It  is  advantageously  situated  about  seventy  miles  from  St.  Louis, 
and  less  than  four  miles  from  Sullivan’s  Station  on  the  Southwest 
Branch  of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  from  which  point  it  is  readily  acces- 
sible, at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  by  good  natural  gravel  roads.  It 
lies  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  richest  mineral  district  of  Southeast 
Missouri,  and  in  close  proximity  to  other  productive  mines.  The 
principal  portion  of  the  property  consists  of  elevated  hills,  from  one 
hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  feet  in  height,  with  steep  declivi- 
ties facing  the  valley  of  the  Meramec  on  the  west,  and  with  mode- 
rately abrupt  slopes  on  the  north.  A rich  alluvial  valley,  from  fifty 
to  one  hundred  yards  in  width,  and  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  acres 
in  extent,  passes  from  east  to  west  through  the  northern  part  of  the 
tract,  and  expands  into  the  Meramec  bottom. 

This  valley  is  excellent  agricultual  land,  well  adapted  to  the 
growth  of  the  ordinary  staples  of  the  country.  The  hills  afford  an 
abundant  supply  of  nutritive  grasses  for  grazing  purposes.  They 
are  also  excellent  grape  and  fruit  lands,  but  the  surface  is  too  rocky 
and  broken  for  farming  purposes. 

Timber. — The  entire  tract  is  covered  with  a luxuriant  growth  of 
timber,  and  greatly  in  excess  of  what  will  be  needed  for  mining  and 


TIIE  ENLOE  MINING  PROPERTY. 


5 


farming.  The  surplus  may  be  readily  disposed  of  at  the  railroad  at 
good  prices.  The  prevailing  trees  are  post,  white,  chestnut,  black 
and  laurel  oak,  shellbark,  pignut  and  black  hickory,  locust,  hack- 
berry,  white  and  black  walnut,  white  and  sugar  maple,  sumach, 
dogwood,  redbud,  elm,  sassafras,  ash,  and  several  varieties  of 
grapes. 

Water. — Your  property  is  abundantly  supplied  with  cool  and 
limpid  springs  of  pure  water.  Some  of  them  are  of  unusually  large 
size,  furnishing  large  volumes  ot*  water.  The  Big  Spring,  situated 
in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  tract,  issues  from  beneath  strata  of 
magnesian  limestone,  and  is  alone  sufficient  to  furnish  all  the  water 
that  can  possibly  be  needed  for  mining  and  agricultural  purposes. 
Adjacent  to  this  spring  is  an  admirable  site  for  a furnace. 

Geology. — The  whole  property  is  based  upon  the  Third  or 
Great  Lead-Bearing  Magnesian  Limestone  of  Missouri,  ex- 
cepting the  summits  of  the  highest  hills,  which  are  capped  with  the 
second  sandstone.  The  thickness  of  the  formation  here  is  between 
four  and  five  hundred  feet.  It  consists  of  thick  beds  of  gray  and 
buff  magnesian  limestone,  sometimes  very  compact,  subcrystalline, 
and  affording  a handsome,  durable  building  rock ; at  other  times  it 
is  quite  soft  and  friable,  and  on  exposure  crumbles  to  sand.  Inter- 
calated with  the  limestone  are  bands  of  compact  and  cellular  chert 
of  variable  thickness.  The  formation  is  well  developed  along  the 
bluffs  of  the  Meramec,  where  it  exhibits  mural  faces  to  the  river 
from  sixty  to  eighty  feet  high.  These  harder  strata  are  covered 
with  a variable  thickness  of  tough,  red,  ferruginous  clay,  which 
penetrates  the  fissures  in  the  strata,  and  often  contains  heavy  de- 
posits of  ore  (float  mineral  of  the  miners). 

Mode  of  Occurrence  of  the  Ore. — The  galena  upon  this  prop- 
erty occurs  in  horizontal  sheets  running  parallel  with  the  planes  of 
stratification  ; in  vertical  veins  extending  indefinitely  downward  ; in 
“ clay  openings55  or  fissures  in  the  magnesian  limestone;  and  in 
irregular  masses  scattered  through  the  superficial  clays.  A very 
large  proportion  of  the  ore  hitherto  obtained  from  these  mines  has 
been  from  shallow  workings  in  the  clays,  while  the  more  productive 
lodes  in  the  rocks  beneath  have  been  scarcely  disturbed  by  the  pick 
of  the  miner. 


6 


THE  ENLOE  MINING  PROPERTY. 


Amount  and  Quality  of  the  Ore. — We  have  no  data  from  which 
to  form  an  estimate  of  the  exact  amount  of  ore  raised  from  these 
mines.  All  agree  that,  for  the  time  they  have  been  worked,  the 
yield  has  been  unusually  large.  Judge  Murphy,  Mr.  Westover, 
and  others  in  whose  statements  we  may  place  perfect  confidence, 
estimate  the  amount  at  several  hundred  thousand  pounds.  These 
gentlemen  state  that  at  the  Sand  Diggings  they  yielded  upward 
of  50,000  pounds  of  mineral  from  a space  not  exceeding  fifty  feet 
square.  None  of  the  shafts  were  over  twenty  feet  in  depth,  and 
some  of  them  were  much  shallower.  Judge  Murphy  also  states 
that  from  a single  shaft,  less  than  fifty  feet  deep,  at  the  Enloe  Mines, 
he  received  and  smelted,  at  his  furnace  in  Washington  county, 
13,034  pounds;  and  I learn  from  other  parties  that  an  area  of 
about  one  acre  in  extent  yielded  from  250,000  to  300,000  pounds 
of  mineral. 

The  ore  obtained  from  these  mines  is  nearly  pure  sulphuret  of 
lead,  or  galena,  remarkably  free  from  foreign  matters.  It  occurs 
in  cubical  crystals  and  irregular  masses,  weighing  from  an  ounce 
to  several  hundred  pounds,  and  is  capable  of  yielding  in  the  furnace 
72  per  cent,  of  good  marketable  lead.  Some  masses  have  been  found 
weighing  upward  of  2,000  pounds. 

DETAILED  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MINES. 

Wayne  Diggings  are  upon  the  eastern  declivity  of  a hill  200  feet 
high,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  section. 
( See  accompanying  map. ) They  were  first  opened  about  eight  years 
ago,  and  worked  very  irregularly  up  to  the  commencement  of  the 
war.  They  are  now  being  reopened,  and  with  very  encouraging 
prospects  that  they  will  yield  largely.  A series  of  shallow  exca- 
vations, extending  about  thirty  feet  in  a north  and  south  direction, 
have  been  sunk  upon  a fissure  in  the  magnesian  limestone.  From 
these  pits,  none  of  which  exceed  eight  feet  in  depth,  Mr.  Wayne 
obtained  8,000  pounds  of  mineral.  Messrs.  Bayless,  Westover,  and 
others,  state  that  the  lode  was  from  four  to  six  inches  thick,  and 
the  ore  almost  wholly  unmixed  with  gangue  rock.  The  workings 
commenced  about  one  hundred  feet  above  the  base  of  the  hill. 

Bayless’  Diggings  lie  directly  north  of  the  preceding,  dn  the 
same  slope  of  the  hill,  but  at  a higher  elevation.  They  were  dis- 


TIIE  ENLOE  MINING  PROPERTY. 


7 


covered  during  the  year  1837.  The  diggings  thickly  cover  a space 
of  about  an  acre  in  extent,  and  the  shafts  vary  from  five  to  forty 
feet  in  depth.  The  ore  has  been  mined  in  the  surface  clays  and  in 
fissures  traversing  the  magnesian  limestone,  usually  in  a north  and 
south  direction.  The  lodes  have  not  been  followed  into  the  harder 
strata,  but  when  the  containing  rock  could  not  be  conveniently 
wrought  with  the  pick  and  shovel,  the  shafts  were  abandoned  and 
new  ones  opened.  These  shallow  workings  have  yielded  between 
250,000  and  300,000  pounds  of  mineral,  as  we  learn  from  the 
statements  of  Messrs.  Bayless  and  Westover,  and  from  prom- 
inent citizens  residing  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mines.  The  ore  is  a 
pure  sulphuret  of  lead,  and  usually  comes  from  the  mines  in  large 
masses.  From  one  of  the  pits,  James  Garrott  took  out  a mass  of 
mineral  weighing  2100  pounds  and  from  another  Mr.  Bayless  raised 
a mass  weighing  2400  pounds. 

Enloe  Diggings. — These  diggings  occupy  a half  of  an  acre  upon 
the  summit  of  the  hill,  a short  distance  west  of  the  Bayless.  They 
were  discovered  by  Mr.  Enloe  in  1836,  and  by  him  worked  irregu- 
larly, with  one  or  two  hands,  at  seasons  when  his  farm  did  not  re- 
quire attention.  The  ore  has  been  mined  in  the  surface  clay,  mixed 
with  chert,  and  in  crevices  in  the  magnesian  limestone,  by  shafts 
sunk  from  three  to  forty  feet  in  depth.  The  mineral  occurs  in  cubes 
and  masses  weighing  from  a few  ounces  to  several  hundred  pounds, 
and  has  been  found  to  extend  from  the  grass  roots  down  as  far  as 
the  work  has  been  carried.  A large  portion  of  the  mineral  raised 
at  these  mines  was  smelted  at  Murphy’s  - Furnace,  in  Washington 
county,  and,  from  the  books  kept  there,  I learn  that  during  the  years 
1853-54  Judge  Murphy  received  37,428  pounds  from  the  Enloe 
Diggings,  and  of  this  amount  a single  shaft  yielded  13,034  pounds. 
These  mines  are  regarded  by  all  who  have  worked  in  them  as  being 
remarkably  productive,  and  among  the  richest  to  be  found  in  this 
region  of  country.  The  indications  are  certainly  very  favorable 
that  they  are  capable  of  producing  much  larger  quantities  of  ore 
than  they  have  hitherto  yielded. 

Tunnel  Diggings  are  situated  upon  the  western  side  of  the  hill 
in  a ravine  formed  by  a break  in  the  Meramec  bluffs.  At  this  place 
a level  has  been  drifted  into  the  hill  a distance  of  ninety  feet,  and  a 
miners’  railway  laid  down  for  removing  the  ore  and  rubbish.  The 


8 


T1IE  ENLOE  MINING  PROPERTY. 


opening  of  the  level  is  about  fifty  feet  above  the  base  of  the  bluff's. 
At  about  eighty  feet  from  the  opening  the  miners  struck  a rich  lode 
of  ore,  which  they  have  followed  to  the  inner  extremity  of  the  level, 
where  is  now  exhibited  a fine  display  of  mineral,  traversing,  in  all 
directions  a run  of  soft,  friable,  sandy,  magnesian  limestone,  in- 
closed in  more  compact  magnesian  limestone.  This  run  is  four  feet 
wide  and  nearly  two  feet  high.  It  may  be  stated  as  a fair  estimate 
that  this  run  will  yield  from  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  of  mineral  to  the  running  foot,  and  the  indications  all  favor 
the  opinion  that  the  lode  will  in  nowise  diminish  in  richness  as  it  is 
followed  into  the  hill.  Indeed,  it  is  believed  by  intelligent  miners 
that  it  will  increase  in  size  and  productiveness. 

Twenty  feet  above  the  level,  and  south  of  it,  is  the  “ Sand  Dig- 
gings,55 where  Messrs.  Bayless,  Sullivan,  Enloe  and  others,  in  a 
space  fifty  feet  square,  took  out  fifty  thousand  pounds  of  mineral. 
None  of  the  shafts  exceeded  twenty  feet  in  depth.  The  ore  was 
found  disseminated  through  soft  calcarious  sand  derived  from  the 
disintegration  of  the  magnesian  limestone.  The  tunnel  passes  be- 
neath the  northern  extremity  of  the  Sand  Diggings. 

Twenty-seven  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  level  is  the  “ Round 
Lode,55  which  has  been  well  exposed  by  blasting  four  or  five  feet 
from  the  face  of  the  bluff.  The  ore  projects  in  round  mass,  five  or 
six  inches  in  diameter,  from  the  surface  of  the  rock.  It  has  the 
appearance  of  an  isolated  mass  of  no  great  extent  occupying  an 
opening  in  the  magnesian  limestone. 

About  ten  feet  south  of  the  “Bound  Lode,55  and  upon  the  same 
level,  a horizontal  sheet  of  mineral  appears  in  the  face  of  the  bluff 
between  strata  of  magnesian  limestone.  This  sheet  varies  from  twTo 
and  a half  to  three  inches  in  thickness.  Ninety  feet  further  south, 
galena  appears  at  several  points  in  crevices  traversing  the  rock. 

Crevice  Diggings. — This  name  has  been  applied  to  a series  of 
small  vertical  fissures  containing  galena,  which  appear  in  the  mural 
faces  of  the  bluffs  of  the  Meramec  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  the 
southeast  quarter  of  the  section. 

Negro  Diggings  are  situate  upon  the  crest  of  the  hill,  nearly 
west  of  the  “ Crevice  Diggings.55  These  are  shallow  diggings  in 
the  clay,  worked  by  negroes.  I am  informed  that  they  have  yielded 
considerable  mineral. 


THE  ENLOE  MINING  PROPERTY. 


9 


Surface  Diggings. — In  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  southeast 
quarter  of  the  section  are  surface  workings  in  the  clay.  They  have 
afforded  mineral  in  small  quantity. 

Besides  the  mines  above  described,  considerable  amounts  of  ore 
have  been  obtained  from  other  portions  of  your  tract.  These,  how- 
ever, do  not  require  special  notice,  as  enough  has  been  said  to  show 
that  your  property  is  unusually  rich  in  mineral  treasures ; and 
although  it  has  already  yielded  largely,  it  is  capable  of  furnishing 
much  larger  amounts  for  an  indefinite  period.  I may  unhesitatingly 
state  that  I have  not  observed  anywhere  in  this  region  evidences  of 
regular  and  scientific  mining,  but  all  the  work  has  been  done  in  the 
rudest  manner,  and  without  a knowledge  of  the  modern  appliances 
of  skillful  mining. 

It  affords  me  much  pleasure  to  express  the  opinion  that  your  mines 
are  among  the  most  valuable  in  this  region  of  country.  Hitherto 
operations  have  been  confined  chiefly  to  the  surface  or  “ float”  min- 
eral, leaving  a great  thickness  of  mineral-bearing  strata  beneath, 
inviting  the  attention  of  the  capitalist  and  skillful  miner.  It  has 
already  been  stated  that  the  third  magnesian  limestone  upon  this 
property  has  a thickness  of  from  four  to  five  hundred  feet,  but 
beneath  this  is  a fourth  magnesian  limestone  from  three  to  four 
hundred  thick,  which  is  also  galeniferous  ; so  that  we  have  here  a 
thickness  of:  between  seven  and  eight  hundred  feet  of  mineral- 
bearing strata  beneath  the  present  workings. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

B.  F.  SHUMARD. 

St.  Louis,  September  2,  1867. 


NOTICES  OF  THE  PRESS. 


The  following  extracts  are  from  an  editorial  article  in  the  Mis- 
souri Democrat  of  August  24th,  1867  : 

A RICH  LEAD  MINE. 

Some  very  rich  specimens  of  lead  ore  have  been  placed  upon  our 
desk,  and  we  are  furnished  with  reliable  information  of  the  mines 
whence  they  were  taken.  They  are  from  the  Crawford  county 
“Enloe  Mines,”  now  being  developed  by  Colonel  Richardson,  of 
Jefferson  City,  a gentleman  well  known  to  the  business  men  of  our 
city  and  State.  We  have  been  shown  the  reports  of  Colonel  J.  M. 
Mcllvain,  of  Carondelet,  and  Judge  W.  S.  Murphy,  of  Washington 
county,  each  experienced  in  mining.  Col.  Mcllvain  says  he  exam- 
ined the  tunnel  lead,  and  judges  it  will  yield  from  two  hundred  to 
two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  lead  to  the  lineal  foot.  Of  the 
quality  of  the  mineral  he  says,  “I  never  saw  any  better,  and  rarely 
have  seen  any  as  good.” 

Judge  Murphy  says  : “ The  Enloe  hill  is  unsurpassed  in  richness, 
as  regards  both  the  quantity  and  quality  of  its  lead  ore.  No  mines 
have  yielded  a larger  amount  of  pure  sulphuret  of  lead  than  these,  in 
proportion  to  the  labor  expended.”  He  further  says  : 

“There  are  several  well-defined  leads  now  being  developed  [by  Col. 
Richardson] ; one  on  the  west  side  of  the  hill,  the  other  on  the  oppo- 
site side — being  tunneled  through  the  hill — and  they  promise  a rich 
reward  to  his  enterprise.  The  strongest  mineral  indications  abound 
all  over  this  tract  of  land,  even  where  no  effort  has  been  made  by 
digging,  and  they  are  sufficient  to  remove^every  doubt  from  the  mind 
of  any  experienced  observer  as  to  its  internal  richness . The  deep- 
est shafts  are  less  than  fifty  feet,  and  from  one  of  these,  January 
18th,  1858,  I received  from  Benj.  Enloe,  the  former  owner,  18,034 


NOTICES  OF  THE  PRESS. 


11 


pounds  of  the  best  lead  ore.  At  another  time  subsequent  my  mineral 
agent  received  24,374  pounds.  I presume  that  several  hundred 
thousand  pounds  of  mineral  have  been  raised  on  this  land,  though 
but  little  digging  has  been  done.” 

We  have  also  read  the  affidavits  of  George  T.  Westover,  a gentle- 
man well  vouched  for  by  Colonel  Mcllvain,  who  says  he  has  been 
acquainted  with  the  Enloe  mines  for  twenty  years  ; that  all  the  min- 
ing by  the  former  owner  had  been  done  by  miners  to  whom  he  gave 
one,- half  the  mineral  for  the  other,  and  that  all  taken  from  the 
mines  was  from  the  first  run  of  mineral,  or  what  are  called  “surface 
diggings”,  and  that  the  Enloe  mines  have  paid  better  than  any  mines 
in  that  section  of  the  State,  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  labor  and 
capital  expended. 

These  statements  are  corroborated  by  others,  and  all  of  them  at- 
test the  wealth  of  the  tract  in  question.  Plainly,  there  would  be  no 
hazard  in  mining  the  hill  on  an  extensive  scale,  and  there  is  little 
doubt  that  the  enterprise  would  enrich  the  company  taking  hold  of  it. 

Besides  the  statements  made  above,  we  have  seen  others  by  per- 
sons who  seem  to  be  entirely  disinterested,  that  speak  in  the  highest 
terms  of  the  “Enloe  Mines.”  Col.  Richardson  is  now  in  this  city 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  association  to  work  the  mines  for  their 
minerals.  He  does  not  propose  a paper  company  to  sell  and  do  no 
work,  but  a working  company,  he  retaining  one-half  his  mine. 


[ From  the  St.  Louis  Dispatch,  August  24th,  1SG7.] 

THE  ENLOE  LEAD  MINES  OF  CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 

Several  newspaper  notices  have  been  given  of  these  mines.  We 
have  seen  and  examined  the  mineral,  which  is  pronounced  by  good 
judges  to  b o pure  galena , and  equal  to  any  ever  raised  in  this  or 
any  other  State.  It  only  needs  development  to  prove  a rich  reward 
for  the  labor,  capital  and  enterprise  expended.  Several  examina- 
tions have  been  recently  made  of  these  mines,  and  reported  upon 
favorably. 

The  examinations  were  made  by  Colonel  Mcllvain,  of  Carondelet, 
and  Judge  W.  S.  Murphy,  of  Washington  county,  both  of  them  ex- 


12 


NOTICES  OF  THE  PRESS. 


perienced  mineral  men  of  high  character  and  integrity,  who  agree 
in  the  opinion  that  from  mineral  indications,  and  from  what  proofs 
have  already  been  made,  the  mineral  extends  from  near  the  top  sur- 
face of  the  hill  to  the  base. 

******** 

We  are  of  the  opinion  that  where  there  are  such  large  bodies  of 
mineral  in  the  top  run  in  such  a mountain,  there  certainly  must  be 
larger  quantities  below.  Will  our  capitalists  take  hold  of  the  enter- 
prise, or  will  they  insist  on  driving  enterprising  men  to  the  Eastern 
and  Northern  cities  to  raise  means  to  work  and  develop  such  pros- 
pects for  mineral  ore,  and  let  slip  a rich  reward  for  their  capital  ? 


For  the  present,  Col.  RICHARDSON  will  be  found  at  the 
Howard  House,  Twelfth  and  Olive  streets,  St.  Louis,  where  his 
plans  and  propositions  for  the  organization  of  a working  company 
will  be  fully  made  known. 


I 


